Kazakhstan, Astana, April 4 / Trend D. Mukhtar /
With the transfer of Ermukhamet Ertysbayev from the position of presidential advisor on political issues to the position of Ambassador to Georgia, the authorities are losing their only newsmaker able to debate with the opposition in public, Kazakh political scientist and director of the 'Risk Assessment Group' NGO Dosym Satpaev says.
"Ermukhamet Ertysbayev's transfer from the position of presidential advisor on political issues to the position of Ambassador to Georgia might have negative consequences for the authorities because he was the only representative of the authorities able to debate with the opposition in public. He was the only 'talking head' who was able to discuss most burning and actual questions," Satpaev told Trend on Thursday.
According to him, "the authorities either think that the situation with the opposition is under control, or will look for a substitute for him".
"It would be interesting to see who will become the newsmaker after him. Ertysbaev for example has excellent oratorical skills," the expert said.
According to Satpaev, one of the possible reasons for Ermukhamet Ertysbayev's new appointment could be his outrageous statements on such a sensitive topic as the continuity of authority.
At the same time, the expert believes that Ertysbaev stayed too long in the position of political advisor.
"Although there were highs in Ertysbaev's career and he even has been a minister and worked in other governmental structures, this position will be a debut for him. Undoubtedly, that will be a new experience for him because previously he was engaged in internal policy, not in organisation of diplomatic missions," Satpaev said.
The analyst highlighted the fact there were a number of precedents in the history of Kazakhstan when people who were not professional diplomats were becoming ambassadors.
"Many ambassadors of Kazakhstan didn't have a diplomatic education, but despite this fact they were heads of embassies even in those countries that were considered as strategic partners of Kazakhstan, like the USA, Russia and China," the expert said.
At the same time according to Satpaev, Georgia is a country where Kazakhstan's national interests are present.
"Kazakh business is present in Georgia. Our national company owns Tbilisi gas distribution station and the Batumi terminal station. There are problems with returning the debt to Tbilgas. I think that Ertysbaev's analytical skills and eloquence will contribute to the resolution of the debt repayment problem with minimum losses for Kazakhstan," Satpaev said.